The invention is related generally to buckets or pails and, more specifically, an improved handle design for use with a bucket, particularly a bucket used by window cleaners on high rise buildings.
Buckets or pails with handles are known to the art. However, those persons employed as window cleaners or window washers on high rise buildings use buckets containing cleaning liquid or water that must meet certain requirements of the trade. That is, the window washer generally is seated in what is known in the art as a xe2x80x9cboatswain chairxe2x80x9d. The high-rise window washer accesses windows by swing stage or boatswain chair. The two systems that use the boatswain chair are the Manual Boatswain Chair and the Control Descent System. The Manual Boatswain Chair system uses block and tackle to raise or lower the window washer to the windows. The Control Descent System uses gravity by starting at the roof and repelling over the side. The rate of descent is controlled using a descent device. The descent device regulates the movement down the rope by way of friction. The window washer can descend down to the window and then lock the device until ready to descend to the next window.
In most cases, the window washer hangs his bucket from on the side of the boatswain chair so that the bucket is accessible. Prior art buckets typically used for hanging on a boatswain chair have several drawbacks. First, to keep the weight down, the buckets usually are plastic with thin, wire handles. The bucket is attached to the boatswain chair by fastening the wire handle onto a snap hook on the boatswain chair. A conventional wire handle can shift or slide along the snap hook and tip or spill. Furthermore, the weight of the liquid in the bucket can cause the handle to pull out or deform the handle or cause the plastic to crack and fail around the handle. Since conventional handles are mounted on the outside of the bucket, weight can cause the bucket to collapse inwardly from the sides where the handle is mounted. Also, since the bucket handle is mounted near the rim and has a substantial curve, the bucket itself is suspended somewhat low relative to the washer seated on the boatswain chair and thus can be inconvenient to use.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a bucket handle for a window washer""s bucket that resists sliding and tipping, resists breaking and bending of the bucket, while allowing convenient access to the bucket by the window washer on the boatswain chair.
It is among the several objects of the invention to provide bucket or pail with a handle for that resists sliding or tipping when the handle is secured by a clip attached to the center of the bucket handle.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a bucket and handle which resists damage or distortion of the bucket under load.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a bucket handle that can be mounted to a conventional bucket or pail.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a bucket and handle that provides more convenient access to the bucket by a user seated on a boatswain chair.
In accordance with the invention, generally stated bucket with a handle that resists sliding or tipping when attached to a hook, that resists distortion and damage when under load, and places the bucket in a convenient proximity to a user in a seated position. In the preferred embodiment, the bucket is a conventionally designed bucket or pail including a replaceable handle on the bucket made from xe2x85x9c inch aluminum rod. The handle has one relatively sharp bend, configured like an inverted V, in the middle of the handle resulting in an apex for attachment to a hook. The handle includes laterally extending, externally threaded mounting extensions at the terminal end of each arm of the V. The handle is mounted inside the bucket and positioned below the rim of the bucket. Each end of the handle is mounted to the bucket wall using an inner and an outer reinforcing plate, each having a central hole formed therein. The reinforcing plates are positioned on each side the bucket wall over a predrilled hole and fastened together with screws, with the bucket wall sandwiched in between the reinforcing plates. The externally threaded lateral mounting extension is inserted through holes in the reinforcing plates and bucket wall and secured with stainless steel lock nuts on the threaded extensions protruding through the bucket wall. A guard can be attached to cover the lock nut to prevent scratching or snagging the structure being accessed.
The handle can rotate at the mounts, much like a conventional handle. The sharp bend or apex resists sliding when the handled is attached to a hook. The handle is mounted inside the bucket and functions like a brace to prevent the bucket from compressing or collapsing under weight when filled. Because the handle is mounted below the rim, the bucket effectively is raised for easier access, relative to a window washer seated on a boatswain chair when the handle is attached to a snap hook on the boatswain chair.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from a review of the specification and drawings.